Friday, 26 April 2013

House Beautiful April 2013

Painting a room is one of the easiest ways to change the mood and decorate. Plus I am very interested in color itself so this makes for a nice tutorial.

The April issue concentrated on legendary interior designers and their chosen color so it also made for a lovely anecdote.

I adore Dorothy Draper - don't know why -

I just do and I love little stories.

There were a few things I remarked on this Master Class.

We all love/make the best of Ikea and Pottery Barn but get something original and unique to you. Think of it as your architectural fingerprint. It doesn't always have to be a grand staircase, even a funny garden gnome will do.

People are overdoing the pop of color thing in rooms for sure. That whole white room with a red vase thing is now getting a little trite.

People seem obsessed with trying to make their houses look bigger. Yes, it is a fact we all crave space, we get it. However, no one will believe your house is a 10,000 sq ft house by using a monochromatic palette. It is the architectural equivalent of trying to buy black pants and tunic top to cover a size 24 ass. You ain't foolin' nobody.

I love table settings as they go hand in hand with my porcelain and plate addiction. I adore plates of any kind from Ikea, yes you read that right, to Sevres. I don't know why I am not a potter.

But this table scape just doesn't make me relax,

I feel that I am going to knock something over while reaching for the wine glass and burn myself with all those candles.

While aesthetics is important, it is even more important for the guest not to feel subliminally stressed they are going to have to play musical plates, glasses, salt and pepper shaker at dinner.

For me, this genre of wallpaper never went out of style. The day this goes out of style is the day pretty ain't pretty no more.

Personally, I would use this everywhere in the house except for the living room but that's just me.

I love this feature where people send in their own aspect of their homes. I would have shared mine but there is so much stuff on my staircase so that might have to wait. You're not missing much though...Maybe next HB review post I might after a clear up.

Most of us are aware that most accidents in the home are on the stairs right? Mine are carpeted and it has saved huge injuries...

I am very nervous looking at all these hard edged stairs as beautiful as they are...I hope that you are careful if you have stairs.

I love looking inside other houses. Is there a medical name for that?

Now we are in editorial features...

This one was called "Simplicity".

I am very unmoved by the current trend of being laissez faire in styling vignettes for pictures. Just look at the haphazard pillows and books just strewn along the bench.

Plus I don't believe anyone could read there without a proper backrest. Looks like someone will need a paracetamol tomorrow.

If I were a detective, I would wonder where the perpetrator sat. All the cushions are plumped up, a sweaters is left by the window and there is a glass of water but no one is there. The owners of the house have obviously never watched "Scream" because they don't have blinds. Scary!

Well, we were warned it was simple...

There is that towel styling just dropped on the bath again.

I live like this so I really don't like seeing mess or non equidistant lines and balance in photos.

The next feature was nice but once again HB is getting a little lazy.

Nice but...

I do like the large frame lithographs framed and

hung in the dining room. It creates a nice effect that is easily achievable and the art is secondary.

This library is very welcoming and cozy and pitched just right.

After some reading, you can go to the bedroom and it is convenient because it sure does make me yawn.

I don't know why they didn't do half page features instead because the smaller photos are more interesting than the full pagers.

Most kitchens in suburbia.com as seen below.

This was a charming feature about pattern.

This style always makes me want to move to America.

I do like a bit of piping on seating but I think this is bordering

on that forced pop of color theory but

at least they folded the throw properly.

I don't know if I would do this busy pattern in my house but it is the sort of design that is enjoyable if it was at a B & B.

Too much bare wooden floor sometimes isn't grounding, it would have been nicer if they put that red patterned throw they used on the console table as a rug instead.

Chairs like that on the side only end up being a dumping ground.

I would have just put up hooks unless it is used as those kneeling chairs that the French aristocrats used while watching the King dine.

Perhaps it is used while brushing teeth.

At first, I was not impressed with this room but then I could see why it made the cut. If you are handy and are so inclined, having a simple palette but jazzing up the room with a eye-catching pattern is a great idea. You could change the curtains once a month with

another color or fabric pattern for a new look.

If in doubt, accessorize with canines.

Without the dog, this would be picture non grata.

Who wants to take bets that this wall feature is going to be

copied by Ikea next year?

A house in upstate New York was featured under the title Poetic Vision. Not much stood out frankly...

The tones work fabulously but I like symmetry and the tops of the bedside table is off, one of the two cushions need straightening and the books on the bench are needless.

No blinds in the bathroom?

Mind you it looks like they are about to hang silk curtains - oh hang on, is that a bathrobe? This person has a split personality...

42 comments:

Your commentary always makes me laugh. That tablescape gives me the creeps too - but I tend to find that about a lot of the tablescapes that are featured in American design mags and blogs. There's too much stuff - you need to let it all breath a little, it looks so cluttered. My pet hate is the styling that they do in a kitchen which will have crap all over the counters, containers and mixers and pots of herbs, baskets of fruit and vegetables, big hurricane lanters.... it makes me itchy I just want to clear it all away to leave some space for actual cooking. Love the wallpapers, Kanchou is one of my favourites, and I'd love it in a living room, but it wouldn't get past my husband I'm afraid. I'm thinking of wallpapering my laundry in it instead. God knows, I spend enough time in there, may as well make it a nice space..... Do you find the editorial features, such as the one on Simplicity dissatisfying? I always do, as they're clearly not rooms to be lived in... bit too much of a set dressed for the photograph? xx

I started panting when I saw that tablescape. I would have come away from that dinner with second degree burns and chipped glasses...I love the designs too but I think Mr CSW would veto it even for the bedroom...But yes you are right, certain places in the house get used so much more than the bedroom right? You should have a chaise longue and cocktail bar cart in there as well heheHonestly, the styling is getting odd and didn't hit the spot for me either. I just didn't feel like I got bang for my buck again. But having said that I couldn't not subscribe to it either because I have an addiction to mags!! xx

Ha ha, you mentioned you like looking at the interiors of other homes, well if I ever thought about doing a post on my re-decorated home, I've decided against it now, in case you shoot me down lol. Nah only joking, it's great that you have such a keen eye for such detail.

The interior decor in the photos is not particularly my taste as I'm more of a contemporary gal, but I do like homes that have a bit of an eclectic feel to it - I think I may have mentioned this before, I'd love an Aga in my contemporary kitchen - yuk i here you say!

I'm not keen on prints in the home - on fabrics and walls. I quite like the New York bedroom but much to your disgust, i really do feel it needs a pop of colour, a bright green of some sort, almost like the silk curtain/bathrobe colour in the next photo.

Oh no Colleen, I am a bipolar senseless bitch, I do mean it partly but from an academic view purely - you should see my house!! it's a mess.

I am bipolar about home interior - I love it and equally don't care at all! I adore agas and the pop of color is nice but it is overdone is all - honestly, I am just sharing what I am thinking when I flip through the mag is all!! :p xx

Yes, we need more of your brilliant commentary! The table scape ? Ugly candles and I only use flower arrangements that are quite low otherwise the guests will be ducking & diving in order to see each other. I adore that style of wallpaper and think the Kanchou would look great in my conservatory..and bedroom...and bathroom - stop me now! Like the library idea but can't stand grey paint since I visited the House of Terror in Budapest.It's a life-sucking shade and I can't bear it.That kitchen of the month is disturbing. Now, I must start buying this magazine!

Hillarious post on my favourite magazine... going to cancel the subscription I think... reading it through your eyes is much more entertaining!!! I love that Clarence House green wallpaper on one of the smaller photos - it lines the entrance - just been souring Clarence website with no luck!! Happy weekend to you! xx

I am not into interior design, but enjoyed this blog! I couldn't see myself living in any of those rooms. The bathrooms were funny with the towels. They looked so austere and one thing I want from a bathroom is a feeling that when you get out of the bath you feel all cosey and warm, especially in winter. What's the chair for? You couldn't sit on it when wet? Is it so your partner can chat to you while in the bath? I think the Best way to make space is to have less stuff in the room. I have been inspired by this blog however and I reckon I could put a room together :)

Thanks Lee! Yes, I bet you could go head to head with a stylist. It is interesting to see because frankly most people start copying what they see so we will see loads of people just draping towels on the tub but on purpose! hehe

"Show me nothing that looks like gravy!":D I hate gravy colors, those make me yawn...:)

Like Teamgloria said above: They should hire you!! But why do the messed up towels and lines bother you that much? I like that towel in that photo, it gives it some dynamic. And I don't get maximizing your space with decor either. If your apartment is small, it's small. I don't need it to LOOK big, I need it to BE big so I can clutter it up with more stuff.:)

Hey doll, it doesn't bother me in real life - in fact i much much worse! But magazines are aspirational and they set a benchmark - I can see a bathroom with towels dropped any day of the week but they need to show the example is all. Also it is an antidote to the mess in my house.sigh.

But it is true - clutter is like cockroaches. The world will never be big enough for clutter! x

Loved this recap. I actually have a subscription, but somehow missed this issue. Now I'm digging around for it...You are spot on with the commentary. I'm thinking the same as you when I read these sometimes. Totally agree about the messy towels, etc. And what about that kitchen? I mean, there are a billion kitchens in the U.S. and that one is kitchen of the month? The best was the pattern mixing feature. I'm loving the toile and flags, but probably would go nuts if actually in my house! Looking forward to next recap!xxKim